PlayStation Plus, what with its 11 million users, was an effective long con when it comes to making people feel okay with not-so-suddenly having to fork over cash for multiplayer privileges ("I'm already subscribed anyway..."...

It's not too often we see a major publisher humbled. With the announcement of Battlefield Hardline last year, EA and Visceral Games were ready to release another entry in the epic and grandiose Battlefield series. But soon after, they decided to hold off, and push the rather ambitious title back to 2015. After taking in its criticisms and lumps from the original beta release, they figured this was one one title they didn't want to botch.

Moving the battlefield away from the military setting, Hardline brings the combat to the cities and streets across the U.S. as the police and criminals battle for control. As the first Battlefield game not set in a military conflict, the developers at Visceral Games wanted to make sure they knocked it out of the park. And in order to do so, they had to put players first and listen to what the community wanted.

In a special preview session with their second upcoming beta, playable on February 3-8, EA invited Destructoid out to get some early hands-on with it, where we had a chat with Battlefield Hardline's executive producer Steve Papoutsis. During our talk, we learned what they took in from its initial beta, and how important it was to give the best of what the series is all about.

So, three years ago you thought you were super cool. You signed up for Minecraft and the account ChickKisser69 was available. Everyone was going to love you. A few years have passed, and amazingly you have decided you no...

Next week is looking to be a pretty exciting time for gaming. With The Game Awards showing off world premieres of upcoming titles, and the PlayStation Experience doing the same, it's definitely going to be a busy and eventful...

Being the bad guy has its perks. With an entire force of orcs, goblins, and other nasty creatures at your bidding, more gold you can count, and a near infinite supply of dark magic at your disposal -- it seems like you've got things pretty much handled in your conquest of the world. But fate seems to have other plans. And with a snarky disembodied voice mocking you and narrating your journey, it certainly looks like your quest for power will be a lot more difficult than you thought.

This is what you can expect in the upcoming sequel to Dungeons. During a private session at a press event by Kalypso Media, I got to spend some hands-on time with their upcoming Dungeon Keeping/RTS hybrid title Dungeons II, that aims to take a light-hearted and comedic approach to being the evilest villain in all the land.

In this developer diary for Killing Floor 2, Tripwire Interactive creative director William Munk and fellow staff members take us on a viscera-spattered, guided tour through the game's Massive Evisceration and Trauma system;...

Holy smokes!
Super Smash Bros. for the 3DS is finally here! If you're as excited as I am, then, well, you're probably pretty damn excited!
Also, if you're anything like me, you'll be looking for other people to play Smash onl...

Weekends sure are good at going by too quickly. It's only Monday morning and I'm already wishing it were the end of the week. Sony isn't helping, either -- its unlocking online multiplayer for PlayStation 4 owners who aren't subscribed to PlayStation Plus this weekend.

Those users will gain access starting Friday, September 26 at 12:01am Pacific and it'll carry through Sunday, September 28 at 11:59pm Pacific. All you need to do to take part is log into your system during those times -- simple as that. What to play, though.

I know, I might be the only remaining person who cares, but Borderlands (that is, the original 2009 title) is now playable online on PC again.
I recently got a few of my friends into the series via Borderlands 2, and some of ...

Is Peach your main in Smash Bros.? Well in Japan, she appears to be encountering an issue while playing online -- she's getting banned constantly. Multiple Japanese players are reporting that they are getting 24 hour bans for...

Back at gamescom, Atari announced RollerCoaster Tycoon World, a new installment to the much-loved amusement park series. However, after a 10-year series hiatus from the PC and the debut of the polarizing RollerCoaster Tycoon 4 Mobile, which was loaded with microtransactions and other annoyances, many had reservations about the potential for a brand new title.

But during a private showing of RollerCoaster Tycoon World at PAX Prime 2014, the developers along with the CEO of Atari, Fred Chesnais, were keen to show how it's a welcome return to what made the series great. Right from the get-go, the developers at Pipeworks and publisher Atari were adamant about the title being a little more accessible while still retaining the deep customization and park management system.

Still, returning to the classic formula was a challenge, and the folks involved were open to listening to the community about what they want for the next game.

[Update: Sony has issued an update on the outage: "Network update: our engineers are aware of the issues and are working to resolve them. We'll keep you posted - sorry for the inconvenience."]
Earlier today, PlayStation users...

After the runaway success of the first two LittleBigPlanet titles on PS3, fans had been clamoring for a follow-up on Sony's new hardware. With the announcement of LittleBigPlanet 3 at E3 coming to both PS4 and PS3, the LBP co...

Yesterday I was playing Wii Sports Club Boxing online while contemplating stuff to talk about on this week's Sup Holmes. I thought I'd have a while to think, but I was wrong. I only had to wait like 3 seconds before I was thrown into a match. For the least popular mode of a game that I'm guessing hasn't even sold 750,000 yet, that's not too shabby.

I got my butt kicked, so I jumped into another match. Again, it was just 3 seconds before I found a new opponent. Again, I got beat down (K.O'ed on the first fall!), so again I went looking for another a new challenger. Again, I was paired up quickly, but this time I won. After that I cut my losses and went back to training mode. Sometimes its best to quit while you're ahead.

Now I'm not accusing Nintendo of anything here, but while punching those giant floating training mode plates, the thought crossed my mind that the person I just fake-assautled might not even be real. Maybe none of them were real. They did engage in a few exchanges with me using the games pre-set text dialogue system, but that's not exact solid proof of humanity. On top of that, all their Mii's were pretty generic, and their fighting styles were awfully similar to what you might find in CPU opponents in single player mode. Then again, in Wii Sports Boxing, there isn't a whole lot of strategy when you're not very good. It's pretty much just "Always Be Punching: The Game" (which tells you how rusty I am that I kept losing), regardless if you're fighting a the game's AI or some other flailing schlub like yourself.

The question is, if Nintendo had set up some auto-play online opponents to give the illusion that you were taking on a "real" person, would that be a bad thing?

Jonesing for official Pokémon merchandise from the Pokémon Center but nowhere close to one? I feel your pain. That one trek to Manhattan wasn't enough for me. Luckily, The Pokémon Company plans to open up...

During the Sony E3 press conference, we got the chance to check out Suda51's new free-to-play survival horror title Let it Die. As Grasshopper Manufacture's first F2P title, it seemed to be a bit of a departure for them. Howe...